By William Zheng
President Xi Jinping has called for a 鈥渃lear, transparent and traceable鈥 mechanism to regulate the exercise of power in China鈥檚 anti-corruption drive and boost supervision by the people and the media to better rein in disciplinary and legal violations.
Xi made the remarks while presiding over a group study session of the 24-seat decision-making Politburo in Beijing on Monday, a day before the 104th anniversary of the party鈥檚 founding, according to Xinhua.
Xi spoke on enforcing party discipline with his eight-point austerity rules and more comprehensive supervision over the exercise of power.
鈥淭o fight against corruption, [we must] regulate the exercise of power,鈥 Xi said, according to the state news agency.
鈥淸We must] improve the institutional mechanism to unify the authorisation, exercise and control of power, and make it clear, transparent and traceable. [We should] focus on finding loopholes in the exercise of power and address the system鈥檚 shortcomings,鈥 he added, urging party members and cadres to always bear in mind that 鈥渁ll power is granted by the people鈥, and to respect the people, the party, the law and discipline.
The remarks from China鈥檚 leader came as the Communist Party gave a fresh push to its decade-long austerity campaign to curb excessive spending on official events and abuse of public funds for recreational purposes such as dining.
This year, millions of Chinese officials are attending an education campaign focused on implementing Xi鈥檚 eight-point austerity rules to improve the party鈥檚 conduct, an issue Beijing believes is key to its public image and legitimacy to rule.
Xi also called for efforts to combine 鈥渟upervision from the party and people鈥.
鈥淸We should] let the supervision of the masses and public opinion [serve] as our 鈥榦utpost鈥, and better coordinate various types of supervision,鈥 he added.
The president emphasised that advancing Chinese modernisation was a formidable task, and that the party faced 鈥渁n exceptionally complex governance environment鈥, which he said made it all the more necessary to maintain a heightened sense of self-reform.
Xi said the eight-point rules were the party鈥檚 landmark measure for self-governance, and ordered leading officials, especially senior cadres, to lead the effort, resolutely curb various 鈥渦nhealthy tendencies鈥 and improve mechanisms to maintain sound party conduct for the long term.
Party conduct and discipline must be turned from strict requirements into concrete actions, allowing ironclad rules to show their 鈥渋ron teeth鈥, thus sending a clear signal to the entire party of unwavering stringency and zero tolerance for a strong deterrent effect, he said.
China鈥檚 top disciplinary body detained 32 鈥渢igers鈥, or senior officials, in the first six months of the year, just four fewer than the same period last year, indicating the sweeping anti-corruption crackdown remains intense, according to a tally by the South China Morning Post.
The latest 鈥渢iger鈥 detained on Saturday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) 鈥 China鈥檚 top political disciplinary and anti-corruption body 鈥 was Liu Shaoyong, chairman of China Eastern Airlines.
Among senior officials netted by the CCDI, five had held ministerial rank: former Tibet government chairman Che Dalha, former Hubei party chief Jiang Chaoliang, Shanxi governor Jin Xiangjun, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region government chairman Lan Tianli and former party secretary of the State Administration for Market Regulation Bi Jingquan.